Lesson 3 of 7·2 min

Capturing

How you remove your opponent's pieces from the board.

Rook

The rook captures by moving in a straight line — up, down, left, or right — onto an enemy's square.

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Bishop

The bishop captures by sliding diagonally onto an enemy's square. It stays on one colour for the entire game.

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Knight

The knight jumps in an L-shape — two squares one way, then one at a right angle — and captures by landing on an enemy. It's the only piece that can jump over others.

The knight's L-shaped jump makes it tricky — it can attack pieces that can't attack it back.

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Queen

The queen captures in any direction — straight or diagonal — any number of squares. She combines the power of the rook and bishop.

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King

The king captures by stepping one square in any direction onto an enemy. Slow — but he can still take pieces next to him.

The king can only move one square at a time, but he still captures anything adjacent to him.

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Pawn — the exception

The pawn is the exception — it moves forward but captures diagonally. It can never take a piece directly in front of it.

The most common beginner mistake is trying to capture straight ahead.

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One more thing — pieces can't jump

Most pieces move in straight lines or diagonals. But if another piece is in the way, they're blocked. They can't jump over it and make a capture.

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Blocked

This rook wants to capture the black pawn, but its own pawn is in the way. It can't jump over it.

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The exception: The Knight

The knight is the only piece that can jump over other pieces. It doesn't matter what's in the way — it leaps right over.